Maryland Route 5

Maryland Route 5 is a 74.34-mile (119.64 km) long state highway that runs north–south in the U.S. state of Maryland. The highway runs from Point Lookout in St. Mary's County north to the Washington, D.C. border in Suitland, Prince George's County.

MD 5 begins as the two-lane undivided Point Lookout Road which runs from Point Lookout, St. Mary's County, to an intersection with Maryland Route 235 in the northern part of the county. Point Lookout Road passes through rural areas as well as the county seat of Leonardtown. After the MD 235 intersection, the route becomes the four-lane divided Three Notch Road and continues into Charles County, where it becomes Leonardtown Road. Here, the route bypasses Hughesville and continues north toward the Waldorf area, which it bypasses to the east on Mattawoman Beantown Road. The route merges onto U.S. Route 301 (Crain Highway) and enters Prince George's County, splitting from US 301 at an interchange in Brandywine. From here, MD 5 continues north on Branch Avenue, running through suburban areas, before becoming a freeway as it passes Andrews Air Force Base and interchanges with the Capital Beltway. Past the Capital Beltway, the route runs through suburban areas of Hillcrest Heights and Suitland before reaching the D.C. border, where Branch Avenue continues toward Pennsylvania Avenue.

MD 5 was designated by 1927 to run from Point Lookout to the Washington, D.C. border in Suitland. By 1940, the route was directed to run to the D.C. border along Naylor Road. The routing was moved to Branch Avenue by 1960, when the route was also widened into a divided highway between the proposed Capital Beltway and just south of the Suitland Parkway. By 1975, the route to a divided highway between the northern intersection with MD 235 and the Capital Beltway with the exception of the portion through Hughesville. The route bypassed the center of Leonardtown by 1996 and by 1999, MD 5 was moved to Mattawoman Beantown Road to the east of Waldorf, replacing Maryland Route 205. In both cases, the former routings of MD 5 became Maryland Route 5 Business. In Prince George's County, several interchanges were built along MD 5 between MD 223 and the Capital Beltway. In 2007, a four-lane, divided bypass of Hughesville was completed, alleviating the traffic bottleneck within that town at the intersection of Maryland Route 231. The portion of MD 5 between US 301 and the Capital Beltway is slated to be upgraded to a full freeway, with an interchange at Maryland Route 373 (Accokeek Road)/Brandywine Road planned to be completed in 2011 and the remainder still in the planning stages.